Presents the empirical data of business cycles and the theories that economists have developed to explain and prevent them, and considers case studies of recessions and depressions in the United States and internationally.

Few periods in history compare to the Great Depression. Stock market crashes, bread lines, bank runs, and wild currency speculation were worldwide phenomena--all occurring with war looming in the background. This period has provided economists with a marvelous laboratory for studying the links...

Introduction : the theoretical background -- Medieval England : the Plantagenet cycle (1150-1485) -- Early modern England : the Tudor-Stuart cycle (1485-1730) -- Medieval France : the Capetian cycle (1150-1450) -- Early modern France : the Valois cycle (1450-1660) -- Rome : the Republican cycle...

Few periods in history compare to the Great Depression. Stock market crashes, bread lines, bank runs, and wild currency speculation were worldwide phenomena--all occurring with war looming in the background. This period has provided economists with a marvelous laboratory for studying the links...